Redwinger wrote:NJ and I are thinking it is time to remodel our kitchen. We love our home except the kitchen is small. So, the remodel will involve moving a wall or two, plus the usual stuff. For those who have been through this kitchen re-do process what can I learn from your mistakes or what would you have done differently given the chance? Thanks.

We won't be moving any walls or any of that, so we're staying in the house during the process. We'll put the fridge, microwave, Thermomix (FWIW), and maybe an as-yet-to-be-purchased hot plate in the family room. We expect to be without a kitchen for about 8 weeks.

So for those who've been through this, what are your strategies for dealing with no real kitchen for that length of time? I expect to get pretty sick of pizza and box mac and cheese by the third week, so I'd appreciate ideas on how to cook in such situations without reverting completely to dorm food.

Jeff Grossman/NYC wrote:Let me suggest whole wheat toast for your countertops. It's much less expensive than any stone, real or synthetic, and you won't have to wipe up any spills of butter, jam, or peanut butter.

We still are considering the whole wheat option, but we prefer to just let the bread go stale for a few days rather than toasting it. Seems like a much "greener" approach and we prefer the lighter color and more natural texture. Of course, the bread must be locally made artisan from a bakery with a hipster name.

Mike Filigenzi wrote:So for those who've been through this, what are your strategies for dealing with no real kitchen for that length of time? I expect to get pretty sick of pizza and box mac and cheese by the third week, so I'd appreciate ideas on how to cook in such situations without reverting completely to dorm food.

Mike-I haven't been through this process, but I plan on doing a load of grilling and perhaps becoming more acquainted with my slow cooker. The fridge and microwave will be relocated to the finished basement where we have a nice size sink available. probably will get a hot plate as well. Paper plates may also get heavier than normal use. Our neighbor, who works second shift has said we are welcome to use her kitchen as long as we leave a leftover or two for her.

Redwinger wrote:Mike-I haven't been through this process, but I plan on doing a load of grilling and perhaps becoming more acquainted with my slow cooker. The fridge and microwave will be relocated to the finished basement where we have a nice size sink available. probably will get a hot plate as well. Paper plates may also get heavier than normal use. Our neighbor, who works second shift has said we are welcome to use her kitchen as long as we leave a leftover or two for her.

The sink may be a problem for us. We will probably get access to our pantry sink for part of the time, but the pantry will be included in the remodel so it won't be there much. We do have a half bathroom off of our family room but the sink in there is very small. It will supply water but it won't be of any real use for cleaning up. I guess there's always the upstairs bathtub and the garden hose.

Redwinger wrote:After three "heading exploding" meetings with the kitch. design person, I believe we have a floor plan/foot print that will work for us. It appears that we will be able to utilize 80%+ of our existing custom cabinetry, which we like, and merely add a few new base units and a utility cabinet along one wall. Matching the cabinets should not be an issue since the company/factory is local (5 miles from our front door) and they will match the stain/glaze and door styles. Oh, I forgot about the island which NJ was pushing for. With one wall pushed back three feet we now have room for a modest sized island. The walk-in pantry (junk collector) will be eliminated and replaced with cabinet type pantry which will gives us more useable kitchen space.

We still have not decided on quartz vs. granite counter tops.

Once we have the floor plan/design completely nailed down and cabinet $$ firmed up, the next step will be to select a contractor to make sure we can bring in the project on budget. Budget? Wait, we haven't even decided what our budget is, but this is a project that is getting done. Period.

That's all. My head hurts and if I was a drinking man, I'd waive the "5 O'clock rule".

You're on your way! Glad to hear it, and good news about being able to save your existing cabinetry. That's a huge expense, of course. Btw, something to point out to you (maybe), is that some ovens are now being made with racks that pull out more like pull-out drawers. Might be something for your wife the wonderful baker to look for and consider.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

We are also looking in to renovating a kitchen back in the US this year. Do you like or use the griddle much? Carrie I see you had French Toast issues. We have one o our Viking at the beach and I think I have used it once. It looks like it should be a great feature, but in the end isn't. On the other hand, I had a neighbor at the beach who had one blackened from heavy use - don't think his was a Viking.

Also Jenise - I thought the whole instrument was either gas or not - did not know you could get a gas cooktop and electric oven. ALso how do like the pots/pans apparatus hanging over your cooktop? I have a pretty high ceiling so it would have to hang down a long ways to do that.

We are also looking in to renovating a kitchen back in the US this year. Do you like or use the griddle much? Carrie I see you had French Toast issues. We have one o our Viking at the beach and I think I have used it once. It looks like it should be a great feature, but in the end isn't. On the other hand, I had a neighbor at the beach who had one blackened from heavy use - don't think his was a Viking.

Also Jenise - I thought the whole instrument was either gas or not - did not know you could get a gas cooktop and electric oven. ALso how do like the pots/pans apparatus hanging over your cooktop? I have a pretty high ceiling so it would have to hang down a long ways to do that.

Hi, John! How's life in India?

Yes, gas cooktop and electric oven in combination is called "dual fuel".

Re your questions, a friend of ours has a griddle on hers and LOVES it. She's a very sophisticated scratch cook and apparently finds many uses for it, and this is just for her husband and herself and entertaining--no kids. I mention that because I would think that cooking for kids, which I know you do, would give one another zillion uses. Heating tortillas for burritos and sandwich wraps, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. Her range is a dual fuel Thermidor.

I love love LOVE my pot rack. Mine hangs over the peninsula that is the staging/plating area to the right of the range and which divides the prep/cooking station from the clean-up station. That peninsula also has some open shelving below. Between the two, not just the pans I use most but the mixing bowls, serving bowls strainers and colandars that get used in virtually every single meal I make are at my fingertips. Eliminating the need to open cupboard doors or stop and bend over has made an insane improvement in efficiency--far beyond what I anticipated. And it looks cool, too.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

India has been hard but endlessly fascinating. Not a day goes by that I don't learn something or see something that changes my perspective on life....can't complain about that. I will post a pic or two from my stroll yesterday through a 14th century Muslim village which is 5 minutes from my house

We will return in next year or so......we miss cooking among other things, hence the thoughts of kitchen remodeling. Also looking at buying a place in Telluride which I am kind of obsessed with now.

John, your pictures of the butcher shop and the street vendor remind me a lot of when I was in Seville back in the late 60's and early 70's. It was so common to see meat displayed in the open sans refrigeration that one became used to it. Also, street vendors were plentiful (especially on weekend) offering various things, but the two I enjoyed most were sticks that featured chunks of lamb or goat interspersed with onion and tomatoes. (these were north African and were called pinchitos) Then there was the vendors with a large wok like pan over a barrel fire where they fried bread dough to a golden brown.The dough was extruded into the hot oil then served on a piece of brown paper then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Major yum both items.

funny you should mention the fried bread Bob - as I was leaving they were frying what looked like pappardelle only thicker, in a big wok full of oil. When finished they would pull out and then drizzle what looked like honey all over it.

It is fascinating in India to see the global food influences infused through centuries of trading - with heavy contributions form Moorish and Persian sources, coupled with Mughal influences of central Asia - and throw in a bit of Portuguese!

John F wrote:Jenise/CarrieWe are also looking in to renovating a kitchen back in the US this year. Do you like or use the griddle much? Carrie I see you had French Toast issues. We have one o our Viking at the beach and I think I have used it once. It looks like it should be a great feature, but in the end isn't. On the other hand, I had a neighbor at the beach who had one blackened from heavy use - don't think his was a Viking.

Hi John. I don't use the griddle much. I suppose if we were big breakfast eaters, we would. Just the occasional Sunday morning French toast or pancakes. As I said, it cooks pretty unevenly and takes quite a while to heat up. Maybe if I used it more, I would get the hang of it, but there would definitely be the need to move things around so they would cook evenly. I have a huge (and I mean huge) Italian frying pan that is semi-nonstick that I use for almost everything that I would use the griddle for. It's my most-used cooking vessle.

Hello. My name is Carrie, and I...I....still like oaked Chardonnay. (I feel so much better now.)

I think we're making progress, but the inevitable "mission creep" is setting in:

We're in the process of getting bids from 2 contractors who came highly recommended.

The floor plan is decided.

After multiple revisions, the additional matching cabinetry has been decided and priced. Who knew that custom cabinets were that expensive, although by East and West Coast standards, I'm getting off easy. The cabinets will take 8 weeks once we sign a contract.

We have quotes for granite and quartz counter tops. No decision yet, but these bids came in under my"rough estimates". we need to go with a light color, since the kitchen does not get a lot of direct light due to the front over hanging veranda. If we decide to go granite, we'll need to select/reserve the slabs.

Spent all day yesterday on the phone trying to track down some additional matching hardwood flooring for under/around the new breakfast bar. Of course, that item has been "discontinued", but I was able to locate what I need in Corona, CA.. Open floor plans are nice, but change on thing and it seems to affect all the adjacent areas.

We're working on the tile flooring and back splash options as I type.

Still have to make decisions on lighting options for the breakfast bar and over the island. I'm not sold on pendant lights, but NJ seems to prefer them. Push comes to shove and she will win. Under cabinet lights are a must, but no decision yet except they will be direct wired..

Decided to tile the office/computer area in the basement. (Creep)

We'll replace the carpet on the steps down to the family room with hardwood, so they'll be easier to clean, especially removal of pet fur. (Creep)

Cynthia Wenslow wrote:Not to throw another variable into the mix (but that's exactly what I'm doing), have you looked at this product for countertops? I think this is what I want when I finally have my own kitchen again.

Cynthia, I love the look of that stuff! And because it's recycled I briefly considered this product, but at the time it was twice the price of granite. I needed too much to go that route.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Redwinger wrote:Adding ceiling fans to the family room and great room.

You're making progress!!

If you choose granite, you'll love the process of selecting your slabs. The variety available is astounding.

Lighting: that decision almost sent me around the bend. It was really about six separate decisions and there were no two matching items because each need was a different kind of light and the companies who make these things make Style A in either type CC or DD, and so there was no choosing from among the same family. What I ended up with looks great but jeez, I was apopleptic until it all went up. Hope you fare better!

With your hot summers, once you add ceiling fans you'll wonder how you ever survived without them. It's amazing how much cooler a room can be with air circulating.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov